By Dr. Mark Creech
Director of Government Relations
Return America
RevMarkCreech.org
Recent reporting has drawn renewed attention to a Kentucky distillery tour involving North Carolina lawmakers and lobbyists – a trip now under investigation by the State Bureau of Investigation. According to WRAL News, an anonymous distillery employee alleged that members of the visiting group arrived appearing intoxicated and behaved in a loud and disruptive manner inside the facility, including claims that some individuals became physically ill in the restrooms. However, these allegations remain disputed, and the investigation is ongoing.
Whether any laws were broken is for investigators – not commentators – to determine. But the episode raises serious and legitimate questions about transparency, privately sponsored travel, and the safeguards necessary to maintain public confidence in North Carolina’s legislative process.
The complaint that prompted the investigation, filed in August 2024 by the political group Carolina Forward, goes beyond concerns about behavior. It alleges that the nonprofit Greater Carolina functioned as a lobbying front that improperly facilitated access between lawmakers and gambling industry interests while using its 501(c) status in ways that may have avoided required disclosure. The complaint further raises questions about potential violations of the state’s gift ban and the failure to properly report relationships involving lobbyists. These claims remain allegations, and those involved are entitled to the presumption of compliance unless and until investigators conclude otherwise.
Context also matters. In the period leading up to the General Assembly’s 2024 debates over potential casino expansion, Greater Carolina commissioned Spectrum Gaming Group to analyze the projected economic impact of expanded gaming in North Carolina, including estimates of the potential establishment of commercial casinos in the state. Standing alone, commissioning policy research is lawful and common in the legislative arena. But when advocacy organizations, regulated industries, privately sponsored travel, and elected officials intersect, the public understandably expects heightened transparency and careful compliance with ethics rules.
It is worth recalling that when North Carolina debated legislation in 2019 to permit mixed beverage service on certain commercial buses, I publicly raised concerns before various legislative committees that expanding alcohol into new transportation settings could, over time, invite situations the General Assembly did not originally intend. My warning then was not directed at any particular operator or traveler, but at the broader principle that alcohol policy changes often carry downstream consequences that are difficult to foresee. Whether the present matter is connected to those earlier concerns may be determined by the investigation.
To be clear, the mere presence of alcohol on a properly permitted tour bus does not establish wrongdoing. Nor does participation in privately sponsored travel automatically constitute an ethics violation. The law rightly requires careful factual examination before conclusions are drawn. But the situation illustrates why prudence in public policy – especially where alcohol, lobbying interests, and elected officials intersect – remains so important.
North Carolinians deserve confidence that their lawmakers are making decisions free from improper influence and that all required disclosures are being fully and faithfully observed. They also deserve clarity about the role nonprofit entities play when they sponsor travel for public officials and policy stakeholders, especially when alcohol is served, and public confidence could reasonably be affected.
The SBI’s work should proceed without political interference and without premature conclusions. If the investigation ultimately finds full compliance with the law, that result should be accepted. But if gaps in disclosure, oversight, or statutory safeguards are identified, the General Assembly should be willing to strengthen the guardrails that protect public trust.
In matters of public integrity, sunlight is not the enemy of good government – it is its ally.
